Lighting system and lantern for use therein



March 9, 1948. P. E. FERLIN ET AL 2,437,350

LIGHTING SYSTEM AND LANTERN'FOR USE THEREIN Filed Oct. 14, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Full.

INVENTORS PAUL EDWARD FEEL/N? EDWARDRAMBUSCH 52 k1. Mi.

ATTORN-EY March 9, 1948. P. E. FERLIN ET AL LIGHTING SYSTEM AND LANTERN FOR USE THEREIN Filed Oct. 14, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l\ JCNTCFIS P/u/L fan/42o FEEL/N Q? EDWARD RAMauscH 5 [1/6 5 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 9, 1948 LIGHTING SYSTEM AND LANTERN FOR USE THEREIN Paul Edward Ferlin, New York, and Edward Rambusch, Harrison, N. Y., assignors to Rambusch Decorating Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 14,1944, Serial No. 558,660

' Claims.

The present invention relates to lighting systems and lanterns for use therein and more particularly to'the lighting of auditoriums, churches, and the like.

' It is customary to light churches and similar auditoriums by means of hanging lanterns or other. hanging lighting equipment. For architectural and other reasons the number of lanterns or chandeliers to be employed is limited and light output per unit must be rather high to furnish light enoughfor comfortable reading of hymn books, prayer books, programs, and the like. While it is possible to have the pendent lighting equipment at-a considerable distance above the eye level of the audience, yet much of it is in the glare zone of the audience, except those at the front. Those to the rear of the front row of lighting. fixtures a distance greater than the mounting height have quite generally been submitted to excessive glare and brightness contrast and cannot avoid the glare of the fixtures in front of them except by shifting the line of sight into directions to avoid having the light sources in the field of direct or peripheral vision. This distracts the listener and makes it difiicult to follow the speaker.

A common form of lantern for such lighting employs a glass cylinder which surrounds a rather intense lamp, and this cylinder is received in a very large preassembled ornamental body to provide a pleasing silhouette in keeping with surrounding architectural features. In such lanterns the cost of the cylinder is a substantial part of the cost of the lantern. The hazard of breakage during domestic shipment is considerable, while during export shipment the hazard is extremely high. Furthermore there is the ever present hazarcl of a large piece of glass overhead. The large body also keeps shipping costs high.

The present. invention contemplates improvements in such lighting systems and hanging lanterns whereby less light is emitted by the rear portions of. the lanterns without affecting the' forwardly emittedlight or changing the appearance of'the lantern. The audience is thereby relieved of-the glare and brightness contrast of the symmetric equipmentordinarily used in such locations.

A further object of the present invention is to employ, instead of a glass cylinder, a cylinder which can be formed from a flat sheet of translucent material rolled to shape. Such a sheet is not subject to breakage and is easily shipped.

A further object is to provide a lantern all parts of which may be fabricated in the form 2 of fiat, or substantially flat, pieces and shipped in knocked-down condition. Instead of shipping bulky assembled lanterns and fragile glass cylinders, it is possible to ship a suitable number of;

compact, easily boxed shooks, each consisting of the parts required for a lantern. The lanterns may be readily assembled at the place of instal lation.

Other and further objects W111 hereinafter apex,

pear as the description proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, for purposes of illustrating the present invention, an embodiment in which the invention may take form, together with modifications of certain parts. it being understood that the drawings are illustrative of the inventionrather than limiting the same.

In these drawings:

Figures 1 and 2 are diagrammatic elevational I and plan views showing the lighting of an auditorium;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic horizontal sectional view through the improved form of lantern shade;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the lantern shade illustrating light emission;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic exploded view illustrating the set of parts, or shook, employed in assembling a lantern;

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the lantern;

Figure '7 is a perspective View of some of the lantern parts showing the same in exploded positions;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view through the lantern;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view at an enlarged scale;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line Ill-l0 of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a horizontal sectional view on the line ll-II of Figure 8; and

Figure 12 illustrates a modification.

The lighting equipment for lighting an auditorium, such as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, is

here shown in the form of hanging lanterns Ill; These lanterns are mounted well above the, level of the eye indicated at H, and are usually designed to provide all the artificial lighting of the auditorium, except for spot lighting or supplemental lighting. The speaker or the action to be observed takes place in the region indicated at X.

The lighting fixtures or lanterns [0 are. customarily substantially symmetrical units, that is, they emit substantially the same amount of light in all horizontal directions; and in the usual installation they are, at any vertical angle of observation, of equal brightness in all horizontal directions. The illumination of the region X is made up by light coming from all the lanterns, chandeliers and supplemental equipment, if used. The general lighting equipment is installed primarily to provide general illumination throughout the auditorium and to permit the reading of hymn books, prayer books, programs and the like. To provide enough light for this from hanging lanterns it is necessary to employ rather high wattage lamps and these tend to cause excessive brightness.

As all the persons in the auditorium face the action area X, all persons far enough to the rear of the front lanterns to receive light at angles from the nadir greater than about 45 from such.

lighting equipment are subject to direct glare from the lantern. For example, a person at the region marked It in Figures 1 and 2 is in the glare zone of the front two lanterns, while one at llf is in the glare zone of all six of the lanterns lfl illustrate d in these figures. The light which is emitted from the lighting equipment back toward the rear of the auditorium, or on the audience orcongregation side, therefore causes annoying glare and bad brightness contrasts without contributing at all toward the performance of any of the seeing tasks being performed there. The light is received in the Wrong direction to facilitate reading and is received in such a direction that one is looking toward X he cannot help but have amultiplicity of lightin units in the field of direct or peripheral vision, thereby impairing the ability to see what is really being looked for. Relief from eye strain is sought and the eyes look somewhere else To reduce the brightness of the rear half of the lanterns, without impairing the lighting directed forwardly, the present invention contemplates the use or enclosing shades about the light source made of diffusing material and having much greater light absorption on the rear half than on the fronthalf, Sucha shade is diagrammatically illustrated at l2 in Figures 3 and 4. The l ght sourceis at l3. The portion of the shade I2 on the right side of the figure is of a single thickness as indicated at l2a. while the portion of the shade on the left of the figures is Of double thickness 'as indicated at [22). The single thickness material has the optimum diffusing qualities for the installation and transmits the light with sufficient diffusion toward the front of the auditoriurn. The photometric distribution of light rays on the-front side of the shade is illustrated by the circle It and the brightness of this half ofthe shade, no matter in what direction it is viewed, will be rather high. When, however, the light is caused to go through two thicknesses of material, as indicated on the left of Figures 3 and 4, the absorption is increased because of the two thicknesses of material so that much less light is transmitted. The circle indicates the photometriodistribution on this side of the shade and is very muchsmaller than the circle l4 indicating much lower candlepower values and b rightnesses. The ratio of brightness is of the order of 2 to 3. In thephotome'tric curves l4 and I5 directional transmission has not been taken into account, as it would vary greatly with the type of material employed.

The shade 12 which is shown in Figures 3 and 4 may be made by rolling a proper size sheet of flexible diffusing material into a cylinder and having enough excess material so that about 180 of the cylinder is of double thickness. Such a sheet is indicated in the flat condition at 2!], Figure 5. While various kinds of diifusing sheet material may be employed, it is desirable to utilize some form of material which will have long life and stand the heat from the rather large wattage lamp which is employed, Also the sheet material should be of such a nature that it can be easily cleaned when necessary. Phenol formaldehyde impregnated paper, for example, a product known commercially as Lamicoid has been found suitable. The employment of the flexible material {or making the shade makes it possible to ship the cylinders in the flat instead of bulky fragile glass cylinders.

As the present invention contemplates providing lanterns for this purpose which can be shipped unass'ern-bled in knockdown condition, it is possible to ship in a comparatively small packing case all the parts necessary for making several fixtures.

The shock, or parts necessary for assembling a complete lantern or fixture are illustrated in Figure 5. In addition to the translucent sheet of shade material 20 the shock includes four vertical plates 2|, a lower ring 22, an upper ring 23, an insert ring 24, a spider shaped supporting plate 25, an upper supporting plate 26, a number of wooden pins ordowels '21, a lam hanger 28 and a length of rope 29, i

The vertical plates 2| maybe made out of plywood, lumber, or hard structural boardv made from exploded wood fibre, such, for example, as Masonite, /8" in thickness, While the parts 22, 23, 24, 2t and, 26 may be made of similar materials fii' thick.

The upper ring 23 has a central opening 30 of the diameter of the shade, while the lower ring 22 has acentral opening 3| slightly smaller in diameter. The ring '24 is made from the mate'- rial left when the hole 30 is *cut into the plate 23.

The plates 22 and 23 havefour outwardly opening radially extending notches 32. The upper surfaces of the rings 22 and 23 are provided with grooves 33which'are adjacent the notches 32.

The vertical members 2! have straight inner edges 3 and are provided with notches 35 [and 36 which are spaced from one another the vertical width'of the shade. ,The notches '32 in the plates 22 and 23 are of the right size to receive the material of the vertical members 2!. The lower notches 35 in the vertical members are of the right size to receive the material of the rings, while the upper notches 36 at their inner portions (Figure 9) are of the same size. The depth of the notches in all cases is such that when the rings or plates 22, 23 and the vertical plates 2] are assembled together, the inner edges 34 of the vertical members come even with the opening 39 of the upper ring. Owing to the smaller size of the opening in the lowerring 22 a portion of this ring projects inwardly to form a shelf 31, Figure 8.

The two rings and the four Vertical members are locked together to prevent separation by means of the dowels or pins 2'! which extend through enlargements 38 in the notches 35 and and rest in the grooves 33. These parts therefore form a rigid structure which canreceive the shade. The sheet 20 is rolled to a suitable diameter to permit inserting it into the lantern body and is pushed down inplace, thereby forming the cylindrical shade l2. It is adjusted so that the edges 20a, 20b of the shade come 'opposite two diametrically opposit e vertical members expanded position.. In order" to prevent collapsing of the shade the edges a and 2012 may be secured to theadjacent shade material by some form of fastener or adhesive (not illustrated).

Various forms of support may be employed for the lantern depending upon the ceiling height. Where, however, the distance from the'ceiling down to the body of the lantern is not too great it can be hung from the usual outlet box indicated in dotted lines at 40 (Figure 8) and provided with the usual non-rotating, self-aligning or swivel joint indicated at 4 The pipe t2 forming part of the hanger 28 is threaded at the upper end, and carries a collar or flange G3 a suitable distance below the ceiling line. The upper end of the pipe receives the upper supporting'plate 26 so that this plate is held up near the ceiling and yet can be adjusted about'the pipe as an axis. The plate 26'has four holes it arranged 90 to one another, and the rope 29' is threaded through these holes and tied in a knot .as indicated at 45,.Figure 6.

Four loops 46 of rope hang below the plate 25. These loops are pulled so as to be'even in length and are tied with cords, as indicated at 41, Figme '7, so as to prevent slippage. The lowerends of the loops are large enough to be received on the arms 48 of the spider shaped plate 25, and these arms have notches-ditto locate the rope loops.

size to receive the material of one of the vertical plates 2|; To'accommodate the plate and facilitate assembly of the'parts the upper notches 36 of the plates 2| are stepped as'indicated in Figure 9. 'The extreme left part of the notch as viewed in Figure 9 is of justsuflicient vertical depth to receive the ring 23. An intermediate portion of the notch 36, as indicated at 5 I, is high enough to permit the material of the thickness of the plate to be passed under it. The portion of the notch indicated at 52 is wide enough to permit lifting the arm 48 up to the position shown in full lines, and this can be done only when the notches 50in the plate 25 are opposite the portion 5| of the plate 2|. In arranging the hanging of the lantern the plate 25 may be supported from the loops and then the plates 25 and ring 23 held close together at"whichitiine the plate 25 can be twisted or turned to bringthe notches 5B in it in line with the plates 2], then the body of the fixture can be lowered so that the entire weight of the lantern body is taken by the plate 25, and, as this in turn is supported by the ropes 29, the entire fixture hangs from the upper plate 2'6. The fixture can be oriented so that the vertical plates 2| are in the right position relative to the door plan of .the auditorium by. merely turning plate 26 about the pipe. Ties 41. are removed. The

pipe 42 extends downthrough the central opening 53 in the plate25 and carries the usual lamp,

socket and lamp. It will thus be seen that both the lantern body and the lamp hang from the,

swivel joint in the outlet box and therefore the entire unit'hangs plumb. .Theswivel joint ii" is of .usual constructionand prevents turning the.

pipe 28 when the lamp is inserted into or removed from the socket. Hence relamping does not change the orientation of the lantern. V

The lanterns are'usually-oriented so that the side plates 2| are lengthwise and crosswise of the auditorium. In this position they interfere the least with the emission of light around the for- Each of the arms 43 has a radial notch 50 of a.

ward 'half of the lantern. The lateral vertical members act as fins which separate the brighter and less bright portions of the cylindrical shade. They obscure the ends of the sheet forming the shade so that one is not conscious of the differences in brightness at'the usual oblique angles of observation such as from the position H" of Figure 2. They also to some extent screen the brighter portions of the shade from such later- "ally disposed observers.

In the modified form of construction illustrated in Figure 12 the upper ring 60 is notched to receive the vertical plate 6| in the same manner as previously described, but instead of having the pin extend horizontally through the vertical plate we here have a pin 62 which extends vertically through the ring El] and is received in a recess 63 in the vertical plate 2|. A modified form of lantern hanging is also indicated according to which a single rope 64 is passed through holes such as in the vertical plates iii. The rope is passed through all the holes in both the plate 25 and the plate 5| tied at the ends and then slipped back and forth until the lantern body hangs plumb.

It will he noted from the foregoing that the lanterns can be made of comparatively inexpensive materials, the separate parts made up and packed for shipment in a very small space with minimum likelihood of injury or damage or loss of parts. While inexpensive materials may be used it is possible to ornament these materials so as to provide lanterns of very fine appearance. Should it ever be necessary to replace the shade the parts may be separated to take out the old shade and put in another one without difliculty, and furthermore the entire lantern can be readily taken apart and refinished, if desired, Various ornamental shapesmay, of course, be given the parts depending upon the use to which the lantern is to be put. 7

Since it is obvious that the invention may be embodied in other forms and constructions within the scope of the claims, we wish it to be understood that the particular form shown is but one ofthese forms, and various modifications and changes being possible, We do not otherwise limit ourselves in any way with respect thereto. 7

What is claimed is:

1. A lighting system for churches, auditoriums and. thelike wherein the occupants face in the same direction when reading or observing scenery and action taking place in front of them, said system comprising a plurality of pen-dent lanterns each with a light source and a vertical cylindrical shade about the source, the forward halves of the shades being each composed of a single thickness oidifl'using sheet material the rear halves of the shadesheing ccrnposedof two thicknesses of like material whereby substantially greater light output is directed toward the reading matter, the

scenery and action than toward the rear, and

the brightness of the rear side oi the shade is screening the front of the shade from observation by persons located to the rear and laterally oi the lantern.

3. A pendent lantern for auditorium lighting comprising a pendent lamp hanger including a swiveling non-rotating support at its upper end and a lamp socket at its lower end, a plate about the upper end of the hanger mounted for adjustment about the hanger axis and provided with four holes 90 from one another, a lamp in the socket, a. cylindrical translucent shade about the lamp, a body about the shade including upper and lower rings and four vertical plates, a bridging member above the upper ring and having four arms interlocked with the vertical plates and a hole through which the hanger extends, and a cord laced through the holes in the plate to form four loops, the loops receiving the arms of the bridging member so that the loops form a suspension for the body, the plate adjustment facilitating orienting the lantern about its vertical axis.

4. A pendent lantern for auditorium lighting having an upper ring, a lower coaxial ring with a slightly smaller inner opening, vertical members interconnecting the rings and having their inner vertical edges even with the opening in the upper ring, a translucent cylindrical shade composed of a sheet of translucent sheet material rolled into cylindrical form with overlapping ends, the outside diameter of the shade being determined by the diameter of the opening in the upper ring, the lower edge of the shade resting on the lower ring, and a loose ring inside the cylindrical shade resting on the lower ring and holding the rolled sheet shade out against the vertical members,

5. A lantern body frame comprising two horizontal annular plates with the hole in the lower one smaller than the hole in the upper one, outwardly opening radial notches regularly and correspondingly spaced in the annular plates, ver tical plates of a thickness to fit the notches in the annular plates and inwardly notched to fit about the material of the annular plates so that the vertical plates may be interengaged with the horizontal plates to hold all the plates spatially,

and means for locking the interengaged plates together including pins each of which is passed through an opening in one of the interengaged plates and received in a notch in the other.

6. A lantern body comprising two horizontal annular plates with the hole in the lower one smaller than the hole in the upper one, outwardly opening radial notches regularly and correspondingly spaced in the annular plates, Vertical plates of a thickness to fit the notches in the annular plates and inwardly notched to fit about the material of the annular plates so that the vertical plates may be interengaged with the horizontal plates to hold all the plates spatially, means for locking the interengaged plates to gether including pins each of which is passed through an opening in one of the interengaged plates and received in a notch in the other, and a translucent cylinder supported from the lower annular plate, extending to the upper plate and received within the vertical plates.

'7. In a lighting fixture a piece of translucent sheet material formed into a cylinder with a perimeter less than the length of the sheet so that a portion is of double thickness, a light source at the axis of the cylinder, and a support for the cylinder including a bottom plate on which the lower edge of the cylinder rests, a top ring through which the cylinder is insertible and members connecting the bottom plate and the upper ring.

8. In a knockdown lantern, two rings, one

with a central opening slightly smaller than the other, the rings having regularly spaced outlaterally alongside one edge thereof, the notches of the rings being of a size to receive the plates, the notches of the plates being of a size to receive the rings and spaced uniformly, the depths of all the notches being such that when the plates and ringsare fitted together the inner edges of the plates are parallel and in line with the hole in the larger ring opening.

9. A knockdown lantern comprising two rings, one with a central opening slightly smaller than the other, the rings having regularly spaced outwardly opening notches, a plurality of flat elongated plates each having notches opening laterally alongside one edge thereof, the notches of the rings being of a size to receive the plates, the notches of the plates being of a size to receive the rings and spaced uniformly, the depths of all the notches being such that when the plates and rings are fitted together the inner edges of the plates are parallel and in line with the hole in the larger ring opening, and a flat sheet of translucent material of a Width equal to the spacing of the notches in the plates and a length substantially greater than the inside perimeter of the larger ring opening, the sheet being bend- :able to form a cylinder whose diameter equals that of said ring opening.

10. A knockdown lantern, comprising two annular plates of stiff sheet material provided with regularly spaced radial slots opening outwardly, four similar elongated plates of stiff sheet material each provided with two spaced laterally opening slots, the size of the slots in the annular plates being such as to fit the material of the elongated plates, the size of the slots in the elongated plates being such as to fit the material of the annular plates, all the plates of one kind having pin receiving holes near the slots therein, all the plates of the other kind having pin receiving notches near the slots therein, a plurality of pins adapted .to lit the holes and notches, and a translucent flexible sheet of a width equal to the spacing of the slots in the elongated plates and a length substantially greater than the perimeter of the openings in the annular plates.

PAUL EDWARD FERLIN. EDWARD RAMBUSCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 905,483 Williams Dec. 1, 1908 1,120,024 Carney Dec. 8, 1914 1,157,732 Stephenson Oct. 26, 1915 1,665,617 Wilson Apr. 10, 1928 1,687,733 Moore Oct. 16, 1928 1,778,305 Blau Oct. 14, 1930 1,791,886 Colucci Feb. 10, 1931 2,358,347 Paul Sept. 19, 1944 2,366,216 Roberts Jan. 2, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 392 Italy June 30, 1878 

